Quick Links

University application fee and fee waiver

The University application fee is $90.

USC offers several options for graduate application fee waivers. Please review these options before you submit your application, so you can make the appropriate selection to request a waiver. In order for you to apply with a fee waiver, the Office of Graduate Admission must approve your request before you can submit your application. If your fee waiver request is denied you must pay the application fee before submission. You can utilize a fee waiver only once so please make sure to apply to all the programs for which you would like to be considered at the same time.
Visit here for more information.

Required Documents

The application to the Neuroscience Graduate Program requires the following materials to be uploaded to the on-line admissions system:

ALL OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS AND TEST SCORES must also be sent to the following address:

University of Southern California

USC Office of Graduate Admission

3601 South Flower Street, Room 112

Los Angeles, CA 90089-0915

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: When listing undergraduate/graduate GPAs (Grade Point Averages) on the Application, please use the system of your university. If you received a percentage grade, provide the average percentage. If you were graded on a scale other than 4.0 (with 4.0 equal to an “A”), please indicate the average grade AND indicate the scale (for example, 8.5/10).
When submitting test scores, use the following Department and Institution Codes

GRE Department Code: 0213

TOEFL Department Code: 30

GRE and TOEFL Institution Code: 4852

The USC Graduate School requires that the sum of the Verbal and Quantitative scores on the GRE be a combined minimum of 300. However, the NGP average for Verbal is 155 and the average Quantitative score is 167 (322 combined). We do not require a GRE Subject Test.

Statement of Purpose

The Statement of Purpose should be 2 pages (maximum) with the standard 1 inch margins and 12 font. Please use the statement of purpose to describe your research interest, as well as previous experience and your desire to join the NGP program.

Your personal statement should include the following elements:

1) Why you wish to pursue a graduate education.

2) Why you wish to join NGP at USC.

3) Why you are a good candidate for the program.

4) What your research interests are. Explain.

5) Detail all research experience and what you learned.

6) Your goal upon completion of the program.

The statement of purpose should be uploaded along with your CV/Resume in the documents section of your application.

Letters of Recommendation

In the Program Materials Section – Recommendation, applicants must enter at least 3 faculty recommenders. Applicants may enter up to five faculty recommenders for consideration. All letters of recommendation are submitted through the online application system.

Once you have saved an electronic recommendation, an email request will automatically be sent to the recommender on your behalf. This can happen before the application is submitted. Please advise your recommender to look for this email in their inbox, as well as their spam or junk-mail folder, as emails do occasionally get filtered out.

Additionally, all letters of recommendation are considered confidential and you waive your right to access. It is the applicants responsibility to ensure that the letters of recommendation are submitted on time, before the December 1st deadline.

Recruitment Process

Applicants Living in the USA

If your application is being considered for acceptance by the NGP Admissions Committee you will receive an email no later than the 1st week of February and will be given the opportunity to visit during one of our three recruitment sessions (dates to be determined)*.

During a visit, prospective students will have ample opportunities to learn about the NGP Program. The visit will include:

interviews with faculty

interact with current graduate students and faculty, and participate in engaging social activities

tour the University Park campus as well as selected research laboratories

Prospective students typically arrive on Thursday and depart on Sunday.

Dress Code

International Applicants

The most highly qualified applicants living outside the United States may be invited to participate in a phone or Skype interview with a representative of the NGP Admissions Committee. The dates vary, and if your application is being considered for acceptance you will receive an email no later than the 1st week of March to request additional information and to schedule an interview date.

Financial Support

All students admitted to the program are fully supported during their graduate training. Support is provided in many forms, including teaching assistantships, research assistantships, training grants, and University fellowships. All awards include full tuition remission, a monthly stipend for living expenses (for the 2017-2018 academic year: a minimum of $31,000 annually), and payment of student health insurance and student health center fees. All students are encouraged to apply for funding from external sources, which include the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

Admissions Decisions

We will notify students as soon as possible of our decision. For students admitted to the program, decisions will be made beginning in late February/early March. Final decisions for all students will be made April 15th.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS:
If accepted to NGP, and your degree is from an international institution, you will need to submit your documents for verification to IERF. Below is their contact information:

Visiting USC

Applicants are more than welcome to visit the USC campus. The NGP Office does not arrange these visits, including campus tours or laboratory tours outside of recruitment. If you wish to schedule your own visit to USC please visit USC Graduate Admissions.